Long time friend and employee J, swore by AN.....gave me crap about it. I hired a new girl right out of college (Hort) to run the com ops. She came in running KIND in her personal grow RDWC. J took one look at her grow and now runs KIND. He says his AN days were a "bad trip".
The point is. If you dial in properly. You can make just about any nutrient brand preform like "the best". AN, Mills, Canna, Hesi, Dutch Gold, FF, Dyna Gro, G&H, Botanicare - ETC, ETC, ETC!
Personally, I really don't think there is a "best". I do think there are some that are not on par with others! The nutrient you use is basically a personal choice BUT, to choose by colorful flashy adds and obvious overblown claims is not the way to choose...
What did you say? My fav's? My actual favorite synthetic nutrient's (when I used them). Back before there were many around. Hands down Jack's or Peter's dry nutrients - It's what all us old timers used - or Organic.
As the new and more fancy - schmancy Bottled came out things began to change. The early 3 part hydro stuff was interesting and then the Dutch took that and produced MJ focused nutrition - Hesi and Canna still fight over who was first and who's components are named what (legally).
Anyway, my fav's were Hesi for hydro - complete.
For soil, believe it or not G&H's Flora Nova line! I never really talk of that much and refer to Hesi a lot but, I didn't use the Hesi as "directed" so it doesn't exactly count here.....
For soil and the Flora Nova - I pH'ed all in-going to 6.5 - 6.7 and never "metered" the soil or run off. basically, I forgot about the pH after setting water and feedings. For the Hesi and hydro - 5.8 - 6.2 and done.
In hydro. I must admit I used G&H CALi MAGic for a buffer as I used RO....Other then that....I always thought that the HESI hydro was better then the other things I tried. Especially after a complete dial in on a strain....
There's my 2 cents - It's all in what you think works best for YOU! By all means, do that! Just be open to try other things when the urge pokes at you.....In your own time....It's how you learn!